Originally, the end of the Ghost Market should have been the liquor shop, but suddenly, there was one more shop.
The shop appeared extremely old, mottled walls covered in vines, the plaque hung slanted in front of the door, yet there were no characters carved on it.
Ren Qing's split soul had a blurred face, wore plain hemp clothing, like the common folk in the Ghost Market, drawing no attention.
However, he noticed that in front of the shop, Restraint Officers had already gathered.
Everyone was talking among themselves.
"How many years ago was the last time the Ghost Market changed? Does anyone remember?"
"About forty or fifty years ago, right? At that time, a liquor shop appeared..."
"I wonder what this shop sells?"
...
Ren Qing hesitated for a few breaths, then his split soul stepped into the nameless shop right in front of the Restraint Officers, making the scene fall into complete silence.
Once the shop door closed, the Restraint Officers belatedly realized that the figure who flashed past might have been a split body of Great Dream True Person.
Ren Qing didn't care about the clamor outside. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The interior of the nameless shop was more spacious than expected, and the walls inside were distorted, clearly dreamscape-formed.
Ren Qing was still not skilled with Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and at once felt at a loss of what to do.
His main body remained in the Great Dream Pavilion, wanting to ask Great Dream True Person, but the latter paid him no mind at all, just not driving him out was already merciful enough.
Ren Qing hesitated for a moment, then placed his finger at his brow. The split soul could, via the main body, sense the Double Pupils on the brain.
He tried to influence the shop, intending to simulate the interior layout of a blacksmith's workshop.
After spending considerable energy, he indeed achieved something.
He saw the walls become flat, the shop divided into front and back rooms, separated by a curtain, the floor being the simplest plain wood.
Ren Qing felt a slight sting in his split soul's spirit, this was the sign of rapid exhaustion.
He had no choice but to close his eyes and rest, spending an entire hour before recovering.
Outside the shop, some Restraint Officers had already lost patience, and the crowd of onlookers diminished slightly.
Ren Qing unhurriedly constructed a counter, keeping the style extremely simple.
After all, just entering Twin Nightmare Ghosts, his abilities were still untrained. He could only gradually refine the details of the shop in the future.
He simply gave up on wall-hung decorations. With less than ten hours left before the Ghost Market closed, he planned to just open like this.
But only now did Ren Qing remember, the shop's plaque had not yet been changed.
To avoid others coveting the cake he alone held, Ren Qing imitated the font of Great Dream Pavilion and carved "Great Dream Forging" onto the plaque, counting as borrowing the tiger's might.
After doing all this, his main body looked nervously at Great Dream True Person. Seeing the other still unresponsive, he finally let out a breath.
Ren Qing then displayed his top-tier skill of climbing the pole.
He went all in and even changed the split soul's appearance into a twisted light-shadow, resembling Great Dream True Person.
Only at this moment did Great Dream True Person notice Ren Qing's boldness.
The light distorted.
"Senior Great Dream, I've offended much..."
The main body grinned apologetically. With Song Zongwu backing him, he naturally didn't want to show weakness and thereby reveal any flaws.
The split soul had already started preparing to open the shop. However, Ren Qing's skill was mediocre, so selecting customers was extremely important too.
The wooden shop door appeared half-open but in fact couldn't be opened by most Forbidden Zones.
But Ren Qing clearly overthought it. The Restraint Officers standing around looked at each other, their expressions somewhat hesitant.
Restraint Officers indeed had need for magic tools, but it wasn't like the desire suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
If they went in to check it out first, they feared offending Great Dream True Person. So in the end, no one entered.
However, the reputation of "Great Dream Forging" had already spread.
At this time, Zhang Mu passed by after buying materials, just waiting to return to the living world with Ren Qing.
His gaze swept past the liquor shop, involuntarily feeling envious.
Back when he had just joined the Restraint Officers' Hall, his guide had taken him to drink Drunken Life, Dreaming Death, he still remembered the taste vividly even now.
But there was no helping it. As a reserve, his means of acquiring blood crystal were limited, and Zhang Mu had already spent all his blood crystal on advancing to Ghost Envoy Realm. Luxuries like drinking were impossible.
Zhang Mu was just about to turn around when he suddenly noticed a commotion beside the liquor shop.
He looked at the unfamiliar shop's plaque and muttered, "Great Dream Forging..."
Could it really be that one could entrust a Restraint Officer to forge artifacts? But then Zhang Mu remembered he had promised Ren Qing to try it, and couldn't help but hesitate greatly.
Suddenly, Restraint Officers from elsewhere rushed over.
They had heard the news and came for "Great Dream Forging", now nearly at the door.
Ren Qing used the Ghost Market's power to influence Zhang Mu. The latter, seeing this, clenched his teeth and was the first to push the door open and enter the shop.
The wooden door closed behind him.
Most Restraint Officers, seeing there was no excitement, soon dispersed. Only those wanting artifact forging still waited at the door.
Zhang Mu looked uneasy, cautiously surveying the shop's interior.
Great Dream Forging looked a bit shabby. Compared to Great Dream Pavilion, it was like heaven and earth. But there too stood a twisted light-shadow behind the counter.
It did appear to be Great Dream True Person, but Zhang Mu always felt it was a bit different, lacking that terrifying aura.
Maybe it was just a clone.
Zhang Mu respectfully spoke: "Senior Great Dream, should I provide the materials for forging the magic artifact?"
"Yes."
Ren Qing tried to be as terse as possible. Saying too much risked being recognized.
"May I ask how much blood crystal it costs?"
Hearing this, Ren Qing immediately fell into contemplation. What price would be appropriate? Too high was bad, but too cheap wouldn't work either.
Zhang Mu became a bit anxious. He had spent almost all his blood crystal buying materials. Now he felt like riding a tiger, unable to dismount.
He couldn't help but say: "Senior Great Dream, my artifact is too mundane. I'll just let a friend I know forge it."
Ren Qing wanted to speak but held back.
That friend... isn't that me?
"One stone of blood crystal."
"One stone?"
Zhang Mu halted his step. He hadn't expected Great Dream True Person to personally forge for such a cheap price, it was simply unbelievable.
Ren Qing activated Twin Nightmare Ghosts, and while Zhang Mu was defenseless, injected a bit of information into his mind.
The general idea was: if a magic artifact forged by Great Dream Forging got damaged, it must be brought back to the shop for repair.
The forging could be cheap, but future repairs would be the real cost.
He only needed to place a split soul at the shop every fifteenth, his main body wouldn't be affected much.
Zhang Mu immediately agreed.
Then he took out materials from his chest, sure enough, it was poison toad skin and flesh-stone, and to be safe, he had prepared two sets.
At the moment the transaction was sealed, Ren Qing felt a familiar sensation echo in his heart.
His main body immediately summoned the information stream, and saw that under the lifespan field, five days had been added. He couldn't help but feel wild joy.
Great Dream True Person's Ghost Market truly had some mysterious rules, by using trade, one could gain lifespan. Surely, the Yin Runner Realm was now within reach.
"A moment, please."
Ren Qing used the dream's power to take the materials, then walked straight to the back room.
Fortunately, he had already done enough homework. For this kind of artifact that compensates for a cultivator's flaws, the forging requirements weren't high.
He had some confidence.